The COVID-19 pandemic took the world by surprise.
Globally, everything has stopped. Projects have been delayed, workplaces closed and schools shut down. The world seems to have grounded to a halt because of the novel coronavirus.
However, students continue their education through online learning and via video calls with their teachers, especially here in our country. The model is currently the best alternative as keeping schools open poses safety risks for students.
Globally, many countries have adopted this approach. Schools in New York have prepared for online learning by distributing gadgets to their students, ensuring they have access to learning materials. As of early April, education authorities have distributed around 500,000 laptops and tablets to their students, allowing them to participate in classes online.
When the first two COVID-19 cases has been announced in Indonesia in early March, the country was in a panic. On March 14, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan announces that all schools in Jakarta are to be closed. However, many schools are not ready to apply home learning programs yet. The online classes implemented in Indonesia work differently from those in the US. This is due to a lack of preparation in this country.
As a student participating in this home-learning program, online school was confusing to adjust to as we have not been prepared through simulations or practices beforehand. Students report the home-learning program to be even more stressful than regular classrooms. Some of the common reasons for this went along the lines of "Normal classes may have been difficult, but having friends makes it so much more manageable and less stressful. Online classes take out the benefits of having friends to socialize with and being stuck alone with nothing but assignments."
Many students participating in home-learning programs also say that the workload of online classes is larger than that of regular classes. The general consensus is that home-learning programs — although highly beneficial and a good alternative to school as schools are closed — still require some getting used to by students, as it is a novel concept and not many are experienced with them.
However, although the closing of schools does have a silver lining (home-learning programs where students are still able to learn), the true sufferers of the government order of school closing are the students in less fortunate situations and the students who are in schools that are not well-funded.
This is because those students lack the devices and internet access to be able to participate in online classes, and the schools do not have the capacity to teach online. Unlike in New York where devices are distributed to students by schools and private companies, in Indonesia, there is yet to be this kind of effort. This leaves many students in a bad spot where they are unable to receive an education. Although internet service providers have been giving out free data packages, they are simply not capable of supporting video calls on programs such as Zoom. Despite the lack of a nation-wide lockdown, schools remain closed, meaning that students who have no access to a device or internet connection will have a difficult time maintaining their education.
In this situation, the government should make extra efforts to support the education sector and build a sense of solidarity among schools, such as by facilitating networks between international and national/public schools to share experiences and study methodologies for online teaching.
there are now some alternatives to online learning in which students in less fortunate situations can participate. The Education and Culture Ministry recently introduced a Belajar di Rumah (Learning at Home) program through state-owned broadcaster TVRI (for the next three months) and a platform called Guru Berbagi (Teachers Sharing), providing creating learning and teaching materials. To add on to this, however, the government should still have more offline options for students without internet access, such as the distribution of books and learning materials.
On a personal note, online classes are a great alternative to normal in-school classes. As a senior high school grade 11 participating in online classes right now, I have been able to focus more and perform better.
The presence of COVID-19 will directly and permanently change education in the future, seeing that we must be able to adapt to working and studying online for any kind of reasons and situations.
Only time will tell whether online classes will be a good substitute for normal classes, and if they are, there will be a rise in online educational programs.
No comments:
Post a Comment